Oh My Kenshin!
by Raccooneyed
Summary: Kaoru is fed up with Kenshin and the Batousai wants nothing more than to put little Kaoru in her place. He can't go any amount of time longer without confessing his love for the head strong matron, and as Sano would say, better to let it out than to hold it in...
1. Chapter 1

Oh My Kenshin

Chapter 1: Kaoru gets out!

"I don't need you, ya know. I can take care of myself." Groused Kaoru. Kenshin smiled and tended to the wash.

"I made a promise to your father." He replied. "I don't break my promises, that I don't."

"Just stay out of my way Batousai," Kaoru barked. Her father had taught her Kamiya Kasshin Style and by God, she was damn good at protecting herself, she screamed with her eyes rather than her mouth and brushed past Kenshin.

"Where are you headed?"

"Anywhere else."

"Kaoru, don't make my job any harder than it has to be."

"Oh, I won't," she grimaced. "I'll make it easy for you Batousai. I'll do what the hell I want to do, and you'll-you'll deal with it!"

"Ugly girl, ugly mouth." Laughed Yahiko from the kitchen. Kaoru stormed off without another word. That Yahiko, she thought, was a bother, but one of her very last kamiya Kasshin students. She'd have him sweep the courtyard when she returned.

But for now, she just needed to breathe.

The nerve of the Batousai, she thought, for showing up and throwing a wrench in her ordinary life. _And why'd he have to be so damn gorgeous?_ She shook the thought. What would Sano think if he knew that behind all the anger, was some strange, unyielding love for the sword wielding, former assassin.

Sano was like the big brother she never had and she'd spent weeks trying to convince him that what she and Kenshin had was a mutual dislike for one another and his position was still very safe.

But was it mutual? She could admit to liking Kenshin under all that toughness, but did Kenshin like her? The bastard was damn hard to read, she groaned.

Having to hate someone for so long was exhausting.

When kaoru got back, Yahiko was already at work, sweeping the courtyard.

"Doing things without being told?" Kaoru teased.

"Kenshin made me do it." Yahiko groaned.

Kenshin? No, making Yahiko work was the Batousai thing to do. They were two very different people after all. Kenshin was kind, while Batousai, the golden eyed fiend, was smart mouthed and intimidating.

_But they were both so deliciously...sexy! _

Kaoru shook the thought.

Standing in the threshold, kaoru watched Kenshin. He was preparing dinner again tonight. Oh no, she thought, What would Sano think! She wouldn't be caught dead in some secondary position to Kenshin! Not in her own damn home.

"I've got this." She said. "I'll prepare dinner, Kenshin."

"But I insist Miss kaoru. You should rest."

This was kenshin, surely.

"I do the cooking around here, kenshin."

Sano walked in, and looked from Kenshin to Kaoru.

"What's for dinner?"

"Beef stew!" Said both kaoru and Kenshin.

"I see you two are getting along."

"Says who!" Barked kaoru.

"I've always liked Miss Kaoru." Said Kenshin, giving Kaoru an indifferent look. Batousai, kaoru thought. What the hell sort of look was that, anyway, she pondered.

_God, those eyes! Those beautiful golden flecked Batousai eyes. Why'd he go and give her those damned batousai eyes!_

"Fine Kenshin, you cook then! Your just so good at everything anyway!" Kaoru snapped, storming off again.

"I'll talk to her." Said Kenshin, tending to the Batousai, who was downright fed up with kaoru's childish behavior. He was only here to protect her after all.

When he finally got around to checking on Kaoru, he found her lying in bed near the open window, staring up at the ceiling like she often did when she was angry, except Kaoru had nothing to be angry about as far as he was concerned.

"May I come in Miss Kaoru?"

"We have nothing to talk about Kenshin." She layed there in her favorite, yellow kimono. Delicate little Kaoru, Kenshin thought. If she only knew just how breakable she really was.

Batousai charged in anyway.

"That is quite enough kaoru." He asserted.

"I didn't say you could come in Kenshin."

"I do what I please." Said Batousai. "And if you act like a child, I will treat you as such. Understand?"

That was a challenge, from Batousai, thought Kaoru. What nerve!

And he spoke in that low, guttural Batousai voice too, to top it all off.

"Don't talk to me that way Batousai." Said Kaoru, plucking Kenshin on the head. "And Kenshin, if your in there somewhere, get hold of your Batousai. He's gone and got ahead of himself."

Batousai got hold of kaoru's arm before she could slip away beside him. Not too rough, he reminded himself.

"We're not done here." Said Batousai.

Kaoru stared up at the him, wide eyed, and noted the emotion behind those golden flecked orbs. She couldn't quite pin point it.

"I am strong, Batousai. I don't need any man to protect me. I've been doing it all on my own for this long." She asserted. Sano always said that Kaoru was some sort of feminist. He'd never seen her show interest in any man, and made it his business to bring it up every chance he got.

Kaoru, the girl that's never been kissed.

Kaoru, the prude.

Sometimes, she questioned her own femininity. After all, if she was beautiful, men would want her, but no one ever showed any interest.

"Unhand me Batousai."

"You are strong Kaoru. I believe that you are." Said Kenshin. "But everyone needs help at some point."

It was something he'd taught Yahiko, the headstrong pickpocket from before he'd become one of her students.

"I just need some fresh air." Said Kaoru, pulling out of Kenshin's grip. At least he didn't manhandle her like her father use to when they sparred. And Sano. Sano could be a bit rough too, if he was angry enough at her.

"If air is what you need, open a window." Said the Batousai. "Dinner will be ready soon."

"I don't have to listen to you." Said Kaoru.

"I have no objections to putting you over my knee Miss Kaoru."

Was that kenshin? Kaoru pondered. It was unusual of kenshin to threaten her, that was the battosai's job. Right? She looked up at him in disbelief.

"Excuse me kenshin!"

"Dinner will be ready soon. You should check on the girls." He said with a smirk. He turned on his heel without giving a Kaoru a second glance. He was well aware that Kaoru was seething at his back. He would enjoy the pursuit. And anyway, she was so good at bringing out his Batousai. Too good. If he let the a Batousai take total control, he'd have no objections to putting little Kaoru in her place.

Yahiko and Sano were already at the table by the time Kenshin returned.

"Should I..." Said Sano.

"Everything is under control. Miss Kaoru is just a bit under the weather. Aren't you Miss Kaoru?"

Kaoru ignored him and took a seat at the table opposite him. If he wanted a power struggle, she pondered, he'd get just that.

"You alright Missy?" Asked Sano, concerned. He wasn't stupid. He noticed how odd she'd been acting since Kenshin came along. Kenshin, the mysterious guy with a shady past.

"I'm perfectly fine." Smiled Kaoru.

"Kenshin here says you've been sick."

"Oh, I've been sick alright. Sick of..." She held her tongue. It wasn't fair to get Yahiko and Sano involved in their skirmish.

Kenshin shrugged.

"You seemed sick Miss kaoru. And anyway, you should rest after dinner. I realize we haven't done much catching up since my return. We should catch up." Grinned the Battosai. "When the other are asleep of course."

Kaoru knew better than to ever be alone with the batousai, not when Kenshin had such a hard time keeping the two separated.

"We can catch up now." Said Kaoru.

"Yeah, I want to know all about you kenshin." Asserted Yahiko.

"I'd much rather speak to Miss Kaoru alone."

"I'd rather speak now. I'm sure the others wouldn't mind hearing about you too Kenshin."

The Batousai gave Kaoru a warning glance. Kaoru was all too familiar with that look- those golden orbs barely visible behind alabaster slits. It was the look he gave his enemies before the last, non- lethal blow. Kenshin was no longer a killer, but there was no doubt in her mind that he used to be.

And here she was, pissing him off on purpose.

"I use to kill people. I used to fuck women until they cried for me to stop." He looked up at Kaoru with golden flecked orbs. "If that's what you want to hear, I'm not that Kenshin anymore. I came here to fulfill a promise I made to Kaoru's father many years ago. A promise that I'd protect his only daughter with my life. He and I were good friends during the war. Like brothers."

"Sucks to have to protect a raccoon." said Yahiko, laughing.

"Yahiko, to your room." Said the Batousai.

"But, I was just kidding!"

"That isn't the way we talk to Miss Kaoru, who was gracious enough to lend us a home. Off to bed you go."

"Aw man..." Yahiko groaned.

"Wow Kenshin. Your tough and honest." Said Sano, leaning back in his chair. "Kaoru could use a man like you. "

Kaoru turned tomato red. She and Kenshin? Not in this lifetime.

"I think I'll go to bed now. I'm pretty tired." Said Kaoru.

"I'll handle the dishes Missy."

"Thank you Sano."

"Don't forget to open that window Ms. Kaoru. The fresh air will be good for you," said Kenshin. Kaoru huffed and gave Kenshin a dirty look. she was running out of dirty looks. Kenshin just ought to leave and never come back, she thought, annoyed.

Batousai groaned. He wanted so much to put Kaoru in her place. The little woman with a big mouth.

And she was all his.

When the dishes were done, Kenshin washed the rest of Kaoru's things and planned tomorrow's breakfast. He hadn't heard from Kaoru since dinner and got worried. She was usually in one of her moods, snapping at anyone came near, especially Yahiko, who pushed her buttons all the time.

"Ms. Kaoru, are you awake?"

"Kaoru left an hour ago Kenshin." Said Yahiko, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

Kenshin pushed open her bedroom door and saw that her window was wide open, except that she wasn't asleep in bed as he'd hoped. He laughed under his breath, careful not the disturb the others and sent Yahiko off to bed.

Batousai smirked.

If she wanted a struggle, she'd get a struggle, thought Batousai, and Kenshin wouldn't be there to spare her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Trouble for Kaoru. And Sano?

_Kenshin wasn't the boss of her._

Kaoru felt like a child again, sneaking out of her own house-most notably, out of her own bedroom window. Sano would go nuts if he found out she'd gone and gotten herself into trouble with Kenshin, again. It was the same old argument day after day. Kaoru was convinced that she was perfectly fine on her own, without anyone's help, and everyone else was convinced otherwise.

She was certain that she didn't need help, especially not from Kenshin.

"Ugh", she groaned. She felt like an outsider in her own home. Kenshin was just so much better at everything. She'd never felt so inadequate...

She heard distant footsteps and hurried to duck down into the brush. Had Sano come after her? No, it must have been Yahiko playing a trick. Kenshin would be too busy with late night housework to bother and the girls were fast asleep.

"Looking for someone?"

Kaoru turned abruptly and was met with a pair of dark brown eyes.

"Sanosuke," she said, relieved. Maybe, she wasn't as valiant as she liked to imagine

"What are you doing out here Missy?"

"Just getting some air. You?"

"I come out here to watch the stars sometimes." He shrugged. "Oh, and Kenshin was looking for you."

"I don't need a babysitter."

"Kenshin seems to think you do."

"What do you think?"

"Things are just bad and getting worse everyday. That's my excuse. Kenshin and I are here to protect you. That's all."

Things were changing. The Meiji era was coming to an abrupt end, signaling fundamental changes in the social structure, internal politics, economy, military, and foreign relations of Japan. There was a lot of fighting and tensions were high.

"I know Kamiya Kasshin style. I am capable of protecting myself."

"We know, we know. It's in out nature, us men, to protect those we care about. What's the harm in that?"

She guessed Sano was right, but that didn't make her feel any better about Kenshin.

"I'll walk you back."

"Thanks Sano."

She could finally get some sleep. Talking to Sano had made her feel substantially better. She was lucky to have him around as a friend and companion, though, she often wondered if Sano ever saw her as more than that. No. Sano liked his women tall and dark, and he didn't seem even remotely interested in her.

No one did.

And besides, Kaoru concluded, she was nothing like Megumi.

"I'm fine by myself." She harrumphed, dozing off.

Kaoru awoke to the smell of Kenshin's cooking.

But Kenshin never cooked this late, Kaoru thought, alarmed.

She had overslept having been up so late last night. She stretched and got dressed. She was starving, and admittedly, she was glad to sleep in now that Kenshin had claimed sovereignty over her kitchen.

"Good morning Ms. Kaoru." Said Kenshin. He seemed especially sunny, considering she'd snuck out last night against his wishes. She, better than anyone, knew that Kenshin was well aware of her departure. Yahiko was especially good at sucking up to Kenshin, despite his loyalty to Kaoru as his teacher, and he wouldn't hesitate to rat her out whenever he got the chance to.

"Where's everyone else?"

"I sent them out for lunch."

Batousai.

Kaoru kept her eyes lowered. If the others went into town, then they were all alone-just she and the Batousai. She never expected to be alone with the man slayer. Having Sano and Yahiko around is what gave her the courage to speak out against the tyrant.

"I'm actually not very hungry."

"Sit."

"Excuse me Kenshin?"

Batousai, cleared the table with one quick sweep. The dishes shattered and everything Kenshin had prepared, lay spattered on the kitchen floor.

"I could have you, right here, right now if it pleased me." Batousai smirked. Kaoru stared at him wide eyed. This was something deep, deeper even, than the Batousai.

"Kenshin?" Kaoru said, meekly. "Kenshin, is that you?"

Batousai laughed, but the jubilance didn't reach his golden eyes.

"You could have gotten killed last night."

"I was with Sano."

"You disobeyed a direct Order."

"I'm not one of your little soldiers, Kenshin."

"Oh?"

"You can't treat me like a second class citizen in my own home."

Kenshin, with inhuman speed, reached Kaoru before she could storm off like she often did when they argued. "Ms. Kaoru, I would never treat you like a second class citizen when you deserve, so much more, to be treated as Kenshin's consort."

Kenshin's consort? She could smell Batousai's breath, feel the heat radiating from his own flesh. Her body was betraying her. She shouldn't have been excited. She was angry and frustrated and Kenshin wasn't there to reassure her.

Kaoru backed away, and ended up pinned between a hungry eyed Batousai.

"I want you Kaoru." He whispered hoarsely. "Tell me what you want."

Kaoru flushed. She'd never met this side of the Batousai before. Her legs felt like gelatin. The only thing keeping her up now, was her unwillingness to appear weak in front of the Batousai-one of the strongest, most valiant men in Japan.

She was a fighter first and a proper woman, last.

"We're home!" Called Sano from the courtyard. Batousai was there and gone within seconds.

That narcissistic bastard! Kaoru seethed. The Batousai had an ego as big as all Japan.

"Just in time for some board games." Said Kenshin, his sunny disposition returning as if it'd been there all along. And maybe it had. Perhaps Kenshin and the Batousai were two completely different entities. The Batousai wanted her, but maybe Kenshin didn't, and how could she possibly be with one and not the other.

"You alright Missy?" Asked Sano.

"She looks like a deer." Laughed Yahiko.

"Oh, I'm fine, just tired."

Kenshin gave her a momentary once over. He enjoyed letting the Batousai take over every now and again and at this rate, he'd have Kaoru properly.

Little did she know, he'd already claimed her as his-He, and the Batousai.

Kaoru took a seat at the kitchen table, still flushed from her close encounter with the Batousai.

"So, what did you guys do?"

"Not much." Said Sano, putting his feet up. "A little bit of this, a little but of that."

The girls raced in from their bedroom and climbed into Kenshin's lap.

"Good Morning Kenshin!"

"Why hello there. My two favorite girls." Kenshin smiled.

It was odd, Kaoru thought, that Kenshin and the Batousai were so...different. Still, she wasn't going to let either of them get the best of her and what if this was all just some joke anyway? She shivered at the thought. Why would the Batousai, one of the strongest men in japan, be interested in her bokken wielding self? Was this the Batousai's way of using her weaknesses against her? To finally break her down into the kind of woman he expected her to be? What a cruel thing to do, cruel even, for the Batousai.

Kaoru got teary eyed thinking about it.

"What's wrong Missy? Something happen?"

"I'm going to go to my room now." She cried, racing from the kitchen with Sano close behind.

Kenshin hated to see Kaoru cry and wondered what she might have been thinking. He'd have to contemplate later. He didn't want the girls to see him all disconcerted

"Missy wait up!" He got her by the shoulders and whipped her around to face him. She had tears streaming down her pretty pink face. "Talk to me."

He'd never seen Kaoru cry, not even when she had good enough reason too-too resilient for her own good.

"No one likes me." She sniffled. "What's wrong with me? Do you think I'm ugly Sano?"

"You're one of the most beautiful women I know Kaoru. How could you think that?" He took her chin between his fingers and kissed her gently. Kaoru melted. She'd never been kissed so sweetly before. She'd never been kissed ever.

A first Kiss? She never thought in a million years that her first kiss would be with Sano.

Sano went in for another and Kaoru eagerly obliged.

Sano probed for entry. Kaoru opened for him, and Sano enjoyed her sweetness. She tasted sweet like honey and her lips were soft and smooth. Sano moved to cradle the back of her head as he explored her beautiful, sweet mouth.

He'd always had a thing for Kaoru, but as far as he knew, she only saw him as a friend-a brother rather than a lover. He was well aware that Kaoru loved him, and he loved her back, but this was the icing on the cake. This was something he'd only dreamt about.

Kaoru felt his hardness and blushed, finally moving to pull away.

"Sano. I want...more." She blushed.

Sano was hesitant. Kaoru, after all, was still a virgin, but he wanted her more than anything.

"After everyone goes to sleep. Okay, Missy?"

Kaoru nodded and the two went their separate ways momentarily. Kaoru was excited, and daunted. She'd never actually been made love to before, but if it was going to be anyone, she thought, Sano was the perfect candidate. He was strong and sweet and brave.

Hours passed and Sano never came. She was certain everyone had gone to bed by now. What was keeping him?

Kaoru got concerned and went to check on him, but the Batousai was guarding her door.

"I sent him away." He said, in a low voice. Kaoru was far from impressed.

"I don't need you Kenshin." She attempted to brush past him, but he gripped her arm and kept her from going any further.

"You should get some rest."

"Let me go Kenshin."

"Behave Kaoru."

"I'm not your child Batousai!" Kaoru reared back, and smacked Kenshin as hard as she could. This was the last straw. Kenshin had gone too far, getting involved in her love life.

_And what did he care._

She was a target in his eyes, she assumed.

"We should keep our hands to ourselves Ms. Kaoru, that we should." Kenshin was surprised. Kaoru had never openly acknowledged the Batousai before. He was fascinated and undeniably aroused by her tenacity.

It was Kenshin, Kaoru thought. She'd smacked sweet little Kenshin when It was that damned Batousai she'd have liked to pummel, she seethed.

"If there is anything you need, Ms. Kaoru, I suggest you come to me first."

Kaoru wondered if Kenshin knew what had happened between she and Sano and even if he did it was none of his business. Her love life was none of his business.

Kaoru shut the door in Kenshin's face and went to bed feeling utterly unfulfilled.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Bad Kaoru!

Kaoru avoided Sano and Kenshin.

She spent the day with Yahiko in the dojo. It felt good, she thought, to practice Kamiya Kasshin. It felt normal, and Yahiko seemed to be getting better everyday. She was undeniably proud of the former pick pocket. She wasn't proud, though, of his bad temper and smart mouth.

"Again!" Kaoru barked.

"Haven't I had enough already?" Wined Yahiko.

She was exhausted and knew Yahiko was too, but anything was better than having to think about Kenshin, and her too close encounter with Sano. She couldn't let her own desires get in the way of the relationship she'd built with Sano-one of her closest friends.

You love him, right? Kaoru thought. She shook her head.

"What's with you?" Asked Yahiko.

"It's nothing." But it was. At this rate, she thought, it'd be seconds before yet another complete emotional breakdown. She shook the thought loose and closed her eyes.

It's just me, and my bokken, she chanted. She lived with Kenshin and Sano, and there was no easy way to avoid them without causing an emotional ruckus.

She knew Kenshin wasn't happy with the distance. She'd been avoiding him the most, but as long as she behaved, he had no right to complain.

And she'd made no attempt to go off on her own. Not yet at least. Today, she just wasn't interested in humoring the man slayer. They'd been going back and forth like cat and mouse since Kenshin showed up a week ago. She'd had enough of being cold footed.

No more running away.

After all, could be just as onerous as the Batousai.

She smiled to herself.

"Okay Yahiko. You can go."

Yahiko left in a hurry. Kaoru needed room to think and even more room to practice beating Kenshin at his own game. When he pushed, she'd push back even harder this time. She grinned to herself.

Kaoru slipped the man a few coins.

"So, you'll be my bodyguard?"

"Whatever you want babe."

"Just for a few days, Lee, okay?"

"The infamous manslayer huh? I'd do anything to be within 5 feet of the guy." He clapped his fist.

"No funny business! Besides, the Batousai could kill you with one hand behind his back."

"Is that so?"

"I didn't hire you to fight the Batousai!" Kaoru argued. "I hired you to protect me."

"Well why can't the Batousai protect you, huh?"

"It's a long story. Let's just go."

"I'm home!" Shouted Kaoru from the porch. The house was empty. Kenshin and Sano had taken Yahiko and the girls our for lunch, she forgot. Good, she thought.

"You can sleep here, in the shed."

"Comfy." Lee groaned. He was a brute-tall and bulky. He carried an ax on his waist and had the eyes of a killer. Lee was one of her fathers old students, though, he hadn't learned much since then. He was a wanderer, just like Kenshin and used less than honorable means of self defense. She was lucky to have caught him passing through and even luckier to come home to an empty house.

Good, she thought again. Everything was going as planned, except that she didn't entirely trust Lee.

"I'll make us some lunch, stay here."

Kaoru started cutting vegetables in the kitchen.

"You making some kind of stew?"

Kaoru turned to find that Lee had followed her home and let himself into the kitchen against her orders.

"I told you to stay in the shed." Scowled Kaoru. She didn't want Lee in her fathers house, not after Lee left on such bad terms. It was just bad luck.

"Yeah, well, you don't pay me enough to stay in a shed." He put his feet up at the table. Kaoru grimaced. She was beginning to think that inviting Lee to stay was a very bad idea. Lee hadn't changed much. He was the same disobedient fool he was years ago.

Sano would be fuming if he found out what she'd done. She cared what Sano thought and deep down, she cared what Kenshin thought too.

And the girls.

Kaoru mentally scolded herself. She was putting the girls in danger by letting a criminal into their house. Lee had a reputation for fighting dirty. He'd once blinded a man to win a fight. It was the day Kaoru's father banished him from the dojo interminably.

Kaoru remembered that day. Lee laughed and trashed the dojo before storming off on his own.

"Let him go." She remembered her fathers voice as clear as day. She was 7 then and her father didn't believe in vehemence, or revenge, but that everyone, at some point, received their just deserts one way or another.

She'd made a grave mistake. Paying Lee to be her body guard was a silly way to hurt the Batousai's pride, though, it seemed sensible at the father always warned against clouded judgement-curiosity killed the cat, and an angry soul killed the dog just as quickly.

"Look, you can keep the money, just leave." Kaoru chided.

"Leave?" Lee crossed his arms and smiled, big and wide. "I'm not going anywhere, not until I meet the manslayer."

"Leave this instant! Or-or I'll call for help!"

"Ha!" Lee stood up and got in Kaoru's face, so close she could smell saki on his breath. He twirled a strand of her dark hair around his big white finger. "Call for help huh?"

"Don't touch me!" She slapped his hand away and pushed her tiny finger into his chest. "If Kenshin gets back and finds you in this house, he'll kill you."

"I look forward to it. And this." He took Kaoru by the neck of her kimono and groped her breasts through the fabric. Kaoru felt utterly violated and sick to her stomach.

"Here's the deal. I'll leave if you give me what I want. If not the manslayer, something else."

"I won't give you anything, not without a fight!"

Lee laughed.

"Oh, that's right. I don't need permission from a little girl."

Lee undid his pants, slowly and let his large white member spring fondly from beneath the black fabric. Kaoru turned away in disgust. She was going to be raped, and it was all her fault.

Damn, she whimpered under her breath. Her father would be more than disappointed in his only daughter, heir of the kamiya Kassin style.

Stupid stupid stupid

"Please. I'll give you as much money as you need." Kaoru begged.

"I don't want your money baby. I haven't fucked a girl in years." He grabbed a fist full of Kaoru's hair and pulled. "This is fate, you know, that shit your father always talked about. I'm supposed to put my big cock inside you and your supposed to scream for me as loud as you can. Fate."

"How dare you mock my fathers words! He was your teacher!"

"Was. I'm my own man now." He slowly undid Kaoru's kimono, cutting through the fabric with a tiny knife. The hilt was beautifully decorated with Japanese symbols. It was her fathers knife-the one she'd spent years searching for.

"Your father was a senile old man." Lee went on.

Kaoru spat in his face and attempted to wiggle out of his stone, saki laced grip, but he ground his abdomen into hers, unceremoniously.

"I suggest you put that away before I cut it off."

Kaoru and Lee turned toward the hallway.

Batousai, thought Kaoru.

"It's you?" Lee gaped. "The manslayer. I've heard so much about you."

"I'm sure you have."

"Give me five minutes. I'll be quick." Lee licked his filthy lips and took a handful of Kaoru's garment, exposing her breasts in an instant.

"You've got one more chance to keep your dick."

It was Kenshin, Kaoru thought, trying unsuccessfully to keep the Batousai at bay, but she wasn't entirely sure.

"You've got 5 seconds. 4, 3, 2-"

It was definitely the Batousai talking now. She hadn't seen those beautiful golden eyes in such a long time. She was relieved.

Lee laughed and unhooked the axe from his waist without letting Kaoru go.

"Is this your girl?"

"She is mine."

Lee looked from Kaoru to Kenshin, brooding over a proposition.

"If I win, I get to fuck her and you get to watch. Whadaya say?"

"I don't make deals with filthy men." Batousai unsheathed his reverse blade sword and held it up to Lee's neck before dragging the blade down to his naked groin.

"Do you want children Lee?"

"I hate kids." He said, shakily.

"These two very beautiful little girls will be home soon." Said Kenshin in a low voice. He made a quick motion and Lee's garments dropped to the floor in shreds.

Kenshin was taking over now.

Lee dropped Kaoru and gave Kenshin a nasty look.

"I don't want your whore." Groaned Lee, visibly shaken.

Kenshin shoved the hilt of his sword against Lee's nose. There was a sickening crack and Lee doubled over in pain, blood spurting from his bulbous snout. He held his face with both hands. His nose now stood a few centimeters opposite it's original positioning,

An ugly nose for an ugly man, Kaoru thought.

"Don't bleed over Ms. Kaoru's clean floors." He dragged Lee to the front door and let the man run off into the woods screaming obscenities

There was a momentary silence before Kenshin-the Batousai, reared his ugly, Fuming head.

"Where did he touch you?" Asked Kenshin-the Batousai, without looking at her. Kaoru pulled her kimono up and couldn't bear to look him in the eyes-maybe never again if she could help it.

"Don't make me talk about it. Don't humiliate me."

Kenshin laughed to himself. She had no idea how she effected him. She had no idea how easy it would have been for the Batousai to kill that man without a single regret. She was careless. But it was his fault. Poor little Kaoru had no idea that he'd planned to fuck her thoroughly enough as soon as he got the chance to.

It made him sick to think that Lee'd put his repulsive body against Kaoru's like that, but if he didn't keep the Batousai at bay, he'd end up with blood on his own hands. The Batousai's dick twitched in response. He'd give anything to remove that verminous grin from Lee's face once and for all.

He looked at Kaoru with a calm expression, ignoring the fire raging inside of him.

"Who was he?"

"He was no one." Said Kaoru stubbornly. She fought back the tears and turned her back to Kenshin. She was thankful that Kenshin showed up when he did, but had no intention of humiliating herself any further.

You hate him, remember?

Kaoru felt the heat in her face suddenly grow cold. She didn't hate Kenshin. She was deathly afraid of him.

Batousai unsheathed his reverse blade sword a second time.

"Tell Sano I've gone hunting."

"No!" Kaoru yelled. She knew exactly what the Batousai meant. He was going to hunt down Lee and kill him unless she told him everything.

But telling him about her little game would mean he'd won.

And her fathers knife. Kaoru mentally admonished herself. Lee still had her fathers knife and unless she asked Kenshin for help, she'd never get it back.

"It was silly." Kaoru started. "It was a mistake. Lee was a former student of my fathers. When I was 7, he got angry at my father for banishing him from our dojo and destroyed our home. He had my fathers knife-a knife passed down for generations."

"Are you asking for my help Ms. Kaoru?"

"No!" Kaoru yelped. "I'll retrieve the knife myself."

Kaoru groaned. She'd done it again. There was no way she'd have the courage to go after Lee after all he'd done. It was downright foolish to keep up the facade. She needed Kenshin, whether she'd admit to it or not.

"I will get your knife back Ms, Kaoru. But there is one thing."

"What?"

"You accept my punishment. No questions asked."

Kaoru thought. Punishment? What did Kenshin have in mind? She definitely deserved to be punished for what she'd done, but it was against her nature to follow orders.

But she wanted, no, needed her fathers knife back. She pondered.

"Yes. Anything Kenshin. I'd do anything to have my fathers knife back."

"Good." Grinned a golden eyed Batousai. Kaoru thought, the change was much quicker now. The Batousai was gaining more control over Kenshin. It was a scary thing to imagine. What if Kenshin disappeared forever?

Kaoru decided to do everything in her power to make sure that didn't happen.

Kaoru awoke to her fathers knife on the floor next to her shikibuton and smiled to herself, but wondered about the punishment. She and Kenshin were always alone in the house, so much so that it worried her. She was sure he'd find a reason to secure an empty house today, whether it be sending Yahiko off to do chores, or giving Sano enough money to take the girls into town for lunch.

She thought, what if he made her do absolutely nothing all day. She couldn't go a single day without sparring and she wasn't very good at being still-a punishment well worth the crime.

Kaoru was nervous for the rest of the day and Kenshin was looking forward to teaching little Kaoru a lesson she'd never forget.


End file.
